Holbytla
by Auma
Summary: A story about love, hobbits, and drunken conversations with casks of ale. CHAPTER 20 NOW UP!! Leave me reviews!
1. Strange Breezes

(Just to give everyone the go ahead, this fic is from the actual book series, however, I have added a few details from the movie that would be nice touches.)

Introduction

****

Hobbits are mysterious creatures. No one really knows where the name "hobbit" came from, but it is suspected that it is derived from the elfish word "holbytla" which when translated means "hole dwellers"  
Also, it should be known that I have changed the timeline a bit. Whereas in Tolkien's works, Pippin was 11 when Bilbo's party and disappearance took place; I have taken the liberty to change his age. Please do not let this influence the ages that Tolkien pre-established. ^_^

The soft breeze blew down into Hobbiton. It was calming, yet mysterious. As it rustled through the leaves and branches of an old willow tree, one would think it normal for breezes to be blowing through the trees on a soft spring day, and it was perfectly normal. But it was the day that she arrived. Some say that she was brought to Hobbiton by the strange breeze. Some said that the two hobbitmaids she held in each hand were not her children, but her slaves that she used to perform her bidding. Some said that she held certain powers, both evil and good. Others even then said that she had a bit of elf in her. es, it was quite a gossip stirring event. She was not brought into Hobbiton by the strange breeze, the two hobbitmaids that stood by her were her own children, she did not have any powers to her name, and she did not have any elf in her. She was a complete hobbit, named Sorrel. Some recalled the day when she appeared walking the dusty road leading into the small village, her two daughters on either side of her, clasping both of her hands and sometimes running ahead playfully. As soon as one of her hands were free, she would immediately support her back with it until it was quickly scooped up again by one hand smaller. As the party trotted into Hobbiton, anyone could see with their prying eyes that she was with child. Most people turned up their noses at the trio, thinking them too destitute to stay long in Hobbiton. However, this young hobbitess was far from destitute but actually carrying quite a large amount of money. With this money, Sorrel was able to buy a small home and live there with her two daughters. The place was named "Long Cleeve" because of the large cleft in the hill nearby. Hobbiton eventually accepted them into society, but they were always considered a bit odd. Only a few months after she arrived, Sorrel gave birth to another daughter. She named her Diamond, after the glittering stars that she loved so much. However, this birth seemed to "remind" Hobbiton of the mysteriousness of who this child's father was. Many approached Sorrel and would ask her who her husband was before his supposed death. "Supposed" meaning that since Sorrel never talked about her husband, everyone assumed he was dead. And this reaction was the same to the question as to who he was. Sorrel would simply turn and walk away or perhaps whisper something sadly under her breath. Yes, many considered her odd and aloof. Some said to have witnessed her walking in the forest under a full moon, occasionally with her older daughters but not often. On these nightly treks into the woods, she would always have small Diamond in her arms, whispering things to her and sometimes singing to her. But she was not singing the regular lullabies that all the hobbit mothers sang...she would sing the songs of old. The songs of the Vanyar and about Iluvatar. Sometimes the songs were in Elven tongue, or in Quenya. Her two other daughters, Delaney and Della, would often be at home asleep every night as their mother would walk out to the forest with their tiny sister. It was at times like these that they knew that there was something different and special about her sister, that their mother would slightly favor her so. Delaney and Della didn't know either who Diamond's father was. Their mother never spoke of it. They only know and remember to this day that one day their mother came home one night from walking in the woods around Crickhollow, where they used to live, and said that they were leaving and not coming back. She also told them briefly that they were going to have another sister. The girls were confused by this, but never asked any questions. 

Years passed. 

Young Diamond grew in grace and beauty and wisdom, as did her sisters. Eventually, though slowly, the family was accepted into Hobbiton society and they were no longer gossiped about. It was one fateful day that the three young girls, at the ages of 5,. 13, and 16 when they were introduced to the immediate Took family, who by that time was high in social rank, having both money and power at the time. It all started as Eglatine Banks-Took became fast friends with Sorrel, seeing that Eglatine was one of the first few hobbits to become associated with her. Now it was, that it was a tradition in the great Took family to keep it large and to have many heirs to your name. Keeping on with this strong tradition, Eglatine had four children, three girls and one boy, Pearl, who was 24 and already had a fiance, Pimpernel, who was 21 and being courted, Pervinca, who was 15, and lastly, Peregrin, who was merely 10 years old and quite a menace at that age. Appropriately, the phrase "at the age" is not correct. Peregrin had always been a menace. As was obvious, Sorrel introduced her children to Eglatine's and Eglatine did the same. Pervinca, Della, and Delaney immediately took a liking to each other, which is understandable. Young Pervinca was also a beautiful, polite and proper girl with whom one would easily get along with. Her parents were very proud of her, since she was successful in her studies and among her peers. Now, we get to young Peregrin. He was most often called "Pippin" and for one thing, he was quite a disappointment to the family. Having been poked and prod and pinched into politeness and manners your whole life, one cannot help but go a wee bit mad about it all and simply rebel. This was Pippin's case. He was quite a disgrace to his mother and an embarrassment to his father. When one spoke about the "delightful Took children" the conversation would often be along the lines of: "My, how incredibly wonderful Eglatine's children are! So polite and honest! All of them except for that dreadful boy. What a disgrace he must be! One wonders how he could have turned out like that being raised by such superb parents...*tsk*" this would be followed by much shaking of heads and clicking of tongues. Yes, the poor boy was talked about, almost as much as Sorrel was. This day was no different. He was going around, pulling on Pervinca's braids and giggling. Of course, after Pervinca and Delaney and Della had gone off, he was introduced to Diamond. Diamond was a very smart young hobbit, even at her young age, and she knew from first glance at Peregrin, that this boy was trouble itself. Peregrin, however, was smart too, and he knew from first glance at Diamond, that she would be a wonderful specimen to pester, seeing that his own sisters had grown out of being bothered by his behavior. And so, this strange, twisting relationship began. Pippin and Diamond saw each other almost every day after that. Pippin would annoy Diamond, and Diamond would show it. However, there was a bond of mutual warmth that seemed always present when they were around each other. Every hobbit in Hobbiton seemed amazed at how quickly Diamond and Pippin became close friends. Sorrel and Eglatine could only guess that, since the both of them were the youngest child, they must surely have some sort of common level on understanding. This was true, many a time would one of them seek out the other when there was a problem with an older sibling. The rest of Hobbiton simply stood back and watched the two grow up together, all the while whispering of affiacement....

17 years later

Diamond squinted in the broken sunlight coming through the thick trees as she looked up to the sky. Sighing, she went back to writing in the blank book that she held in her lap and leaned back against the tree trunk. She was a very quiet girl, as many had found, and she liked to read by herself, secluded and silent. At twenty four, many were surprised that she was so shy. Both of her older sisters were outgoing and sociable. And, she was a _tween_ after all. Tweens were the irresponsible ages between twenty and the coming of age of 33. Diamond tore herself away from her writing again and looked out among the trees and into the dense woods beyond. Suddenly, a pair of hands came up from behind her and covered her eyes, making her start. The owner of the hands was silent, waiting for Diamond to say something. 

"Pippin, get your grubby hands off my face or so help me...."

Pippin quickly withdrew his hands from her face.

"Alright, alright! Take it easy!" he said, putting an innocent face on. Diamond only gave him a look. For as long as she could remember, Pippin had greeted her in this way. He knew it annoyed her like the dickens, so he enjoyed doing it. 

"I'm assuming you are going to the coming of age party?" Pippin asked. Diamond's sister, Della, had just turned 33 a few weeks ago. Instead of a normal birthday party, Sorrel thought that a coming out party would be much more interesting. Personally, Diamond would have been sooner hung by the neck than go to a fancy party, but it was her sister after all....

"Yes....I guess so...."she muttered.

Pippin shifted and sat down cross-legged, leaning against the opposite side of the tree.

"Yeah. Fun. Get to go talk to stuffy people I don't even know and act all polite and have manners and...."Pippin shuddered.

Diamond rolled her eyes and shut her book.

"You know, it's not all that hard to get along with people," she pointed out rhetorically.

"I know that, its just..."Pippin seemed to be fighting for the words, "well, I mean, my whole life I've been expected to behave and when I finally get some freedom to go and bash around with you and Merry and maybe even Frodo, I feel like I'm constricted by these manners that have been forced into my head my whole life. I want to be able to live every day of my life without worrying what people think of me or my actions."

As he spoke, he got up from the tree and walked over to her side, pacing back and forth. Diamond listened patiently, however she had listened to this speech before, and she quietly, though not necessarily politely, went back to writing. Pippin eventually started repeating himself, so he plopped down on the ground in front of her and began muttering to himself. Diamond tried to ignore his mutterings but she caught phrases of "rude whelp of a lass..." and "scribblin away all day without a moments care of listenin..."

She looked up at him, witholding a grin. However, the grin quickly faded as she found, when she looked down into her lap, that her book was gone! Looking back to Pippin, she realized that he had grabbed it faster than she could blink and was now opening it. She lunged after the book, but he swiped it out of her reach.

"Pippin, give that back!" She shouted.

Really, shouting was the wrong thing to do, because Pippin merely realized that the book was important to her so, all the better that he now had it in his grasp. She lunged again, away from the tree and Pippin ducked the book out of the way just in time. She fell, face first onto the grass, causing Pippin to burst out into laughter. She pushed herself up.

"Pippin, don't read it!"  
Pippin got the awful boyish grin that Diamond dreaded. Opening the book to the page she was writing in, he began to read. His brow furrowed. Diamond sighed heavily and hung her head.  
"It-It's a story I'm writing," she explained.

A few silent moments passed as Pippin read more. Finally, he set the book down.  
"Writing about dragons and elves and having adventures are we? And I thought that you were one of the more down-to-earth people that I knew," he said quietly, one eyebrow slowly rising. She grabbed the book out of his lap and set to wiping off the grass and dirt on its cover. 

"You aren't the only one who wants to get out and have adventures, Pippin. Since I probably will never leave Hobbiton, I free myself by imagining it in my writing," then, a bit callously, she added, "As a Took, I should think you would be sympathetic instead of contradicting others that do the same things you do."

Pippin's countenance fell. He got up angrily. 

"You are a hopeless hobbitmaid who does nothing but dream, I'd like to see where that gets you in life," he said, then turned and began to stalk off. Diamond stood up.

"And you, Peregrin Took, are a spoiled brat and a fool of a hobbit," she called after him. Pippin stopped short for a while, but didn't turn around. He just kept angrily walking.

Diamond sighed, frustrated. She sat down with her book and began to write. Trying to re submerse herself in the world she was making, she read her last line. 

__

And, as the stars twinkled in there dark haven above, Arkanon felt the cold stab of 

She thought. The cold stab of what? She was introducing a new character and didn't have context. 

__

....of fear. She wrote, then crossed it out.

jealousy. No, no. She crossed it out again. She sighed again. Now, she couldn't even write since Pippin had upset her. Quickly, she stood up again, and, adjusting her skirt, began to trod home to get ready for the party.


	2. Burdock Cordial and Cask Conversations

It all really was quite extraordinary. Food, festivities, dancing, decorations....Fireworks! Though not nearly as good as Gandalf's, whom they had not seen in 3 months. The party was however, just as superb. Diamond, having gotten over her fit, secretly brought her book again, just in case there was a lull and she could slip off to a quiet spot. It was taking place outside, in the cool summer evening twilight. She glanced over to Delaney. Absolutely swamped by a crowd of hobbit-men...and enjoying it too! Diamond rolled her eyes. By the time this evening was over she knew that Delaney would have at least 5 proposals. Diamond sighed heavily and leaned against a nearby table. She was getting bored. Suddenly, she straightened up and stood on her tiptoes. Maybe she could find some of her friends. She scanned the crowd. There was Rosie.....hmmm, she knew that if Rosie was there, then Sam was bound to be nearby. Yep, there he was, kinda in the corner, head down, shoulders hunched. Occasionally, he would dare to raise his eyes and glance at Rosie. Rosie suddenly caught his eye and smiled sweetly at him. Diamond was amazed that anyone could blush as quickly or as much as Sam did at that moment. She shook her head then continued to look. Just arriving, was Frodo Baggins. Diamond smiled. She was close to Frodo too, almost as close as she was to Pippin. Of course, Bilbo wasn't with him. As Bilbo got older, he seemed to get grumpier, and he stopped coming to most parties altogether. Of course, its not like his presence was really appreciated, he often grumbled about the food or, most often, about the hobbits present. Diamond half ran, half skipped for joy over to Frodo. Frodo grinned, a bit Tookishly, at her and that suddenly reminded her. Diamond's greeted Frodo, but her smile was short lived. She pulled Frodo close.  
"Have you noticed that Merry and Pippin aren't here?"  
Frodo's face became distraught and he had a hint of mock terror in his eyes.  
"We'd better find them before someone starts screaming."  
Diamond nodded. Though splitting up may have seemed more practical, the pair did not, but instead stayed together, simply enjoying the company of one another. 

"Pippin?"

"Yes?"

"I have a question."

"Ask."

"Why am I under a table with a cask of ale?"

Pippin rolled his eyes at Merry, who was curled up next to the cask. The two (three, including the ale) were hunched under a table.

"I told you, its all a part of the plan."

"Yes, I know, but how does this help?" 

"Well, it helps with our original plan. Now, the old tradition is that a female relation of the one receiving the proposals, which would be Delaney, is to wait on all those proposing. What we're gonna do, is, as soon as the female relation graciously takes the jackets of the suitors, we frisk the pockets, and find all the rings that are to be offered. Judging on the size of the group around Delaney, this will be a considerable number of rings. Then, we watch in delight and mischievous glee as they all try to propose, can't find anything to propose with, and we end up in general havoc," Pippin nodded in satisfaction.

Merry's brow furled.   
"Well, that's all fine and good, but what do we do with the rings afterward?"  
Pippin's smile faded.  
"Eh......we'll just have to play that by ear."

Merry shrugged. "Well, we've got one problem. I know when you speak of the 'female relation' you mean Diamond. Now, how are we going to convince her to help us out? I mean, look at her! She's out there with Frodo trying to track us down already!"  
Pippin got his boyish grin again.  
"That is where the ale comes in. It's no use talking to her, after all. Now, I'm going to go up and casually grab her tankard. When I set it down, you grab it and fill it as fast as you can."  
Pippin crawled out and stood up. As quickly as he could he lunged over and grabbed her tankard. He strolled out to the opposite side of the table. With the mug behind his back, he began to slowly lower it down to the ground, hopefully in Merry's reach.   
"Pippin!"

Pippin started as he saw Diamond rushing toward him, followed by Frodo. 

"There you are, Pip," Frodo called. "We've been looking everywhere for you and Merry. By the way.....where is Merry?"  
Diamond had not said anything but had a suspicious eye on Pippin that made him very nervous. Her foot started to tap.  
"He's...uh....well, he's at...um...." Pippin racked his brain, trying to make something up. Suddenly, the mug slipped out of his hands, and landed on Merry's outstretched one. The inevitable. Merry yelped. Pippin froze, but only for a moment, he quickly tried to cover it up with loud bouts of fake coughing. Fortunately for him, a firework had been set off at the moment of Merry's yelp and had blocked the noise effectively. 

"Well?" Diamond asked. It was obvious she was suspicious of something.  
"He's ah....that is.....he went home." It wasn't the best he could have done, but it was the only thing that Pippin could come up with.  
Frodo had a slight bit of unsure concern on his face, but Diamond saw right through the whole thing.   
"Pray, why?" she asked.  
Pippin felt the full tankard being thrust into his hands. He brought it out in front of him.  
"I don't think the burdock cordial agreed with him," he said, inspired by the mug, "In fact, why don't you try and see if there's anything wrong?"  
Diamond stared at the mug skeptically.  
"Pip, that's your mug."

"Is it?....uh...I mean, it is! Of course it is! How silly of me!"  
Diamond had a small smile pasted on her face.   
"Well, since it's your mug, why don't you try it?"

Pippin was trapped. Cornered. Backed against the wall. A sitting duck.   
"I shall then," he said and, just to prove his point, took many hearty swallows. 

__

Well, that's not so bad, he thought to himself, when there seemed to be no effect. Diamond raised her eyebrows, maybe Pip wasn't lying after all.

"S-seems just fine to me, I wonder what Merry's problem is," he said.

Diamond shook her head and turned to Frodo.   
"Come along, Frodo, I want to show you something."  
Pippin could tell by the way Frodo followed Diamond that he was quite smitten. Moony eyed too. He shook his head, and frowned when everything around him continued to shake for a little while even when he had stopped. He stumbled down on his hands and knees and crawled back underneath the table.   
"Well, Merry, needless to say, I think it failed, what do you think?"  
Silence.  
"Merry, I asked you a question."  
More silence.  
"Merry?"

"Other side, Pip."  
Pippin turned his head.   
"What are you doing over there? You were on this side a moment ago."  
"The cask is on that side. You seem to be having a wonderful conversation with it."  
"Oh."  
Merry shook his head, "Come on, Pip."  
He helped Pippin crawl out from underneath the table. 

"You don't look so good, maybe you better go home."  
"I'm fine."  
Merry shook his head again. Pippin was steadily turning an interesting shade of green.  
Pippin jerkily broke from Merry's grasp on his arm and attempted to walk over to a nearby bench. Everything spun around him. He didn't get very far before Merry had to catch him. Just then, Della approached them.   
"Everything alright, boys?"  
Merry nodded.  
"Yes, Della, everything's fine. Burdock cordial didn't agree with Pip is all...."

Diamond handed him her book.   
"Pippin didn't like it, I was just wondering what you would think."  
Frodo thumbed through the pages, reading her story.   
"It's wonderful."  
Her eyes widened.  
"You really think so?"  
"Yes, it's great!"

She couldn't believe her ears.  
"Th-thank you!"  
"But....."  
Her smile faded.   
"But what?"

Frodo bit his lip.  
"It's an incredible story. Full of intriguing qualities, mystery, adventure, legend; but, there is something missing."  
Her face became grave.  
"What's that?"  
"I can't quite place it, but there is something more that should be put into it. I think that when you write, you should truly put yourself, your soul, your heart, into your writing. To me, it seems to be missing. I know that you can write from your heart, Diamond."

Diamond sighed, disappointed.   
  



	3. Playfights

She casually took her book from Frodo's hands and turned to leave. Frodo grabbed her shoulder.  
"Diamond, I know you can do it."

Diamond nodded, but his words really set in. Could she really write something from her heart? She didn't even have the courage to delve inside her own heart and see what was there, how could she write about it? She sighed heavily. She had had enough partying for one night and she headed towards the main road. It was quiet in Hobbiton, the stars were just coming out. A cool breeze blew through her hair. However, the tranquility did not last long. There was a crash in the bushes to her left and a "whoa!" Diamond turned and poked about near the bushes. Merry suddenly came stumbling out.   
"Merry? What are you doing?"

"Trying to get Pip home, that's what. Those gulps of ale he took have made him just about plumb drunk! I think the ale was made too strong."  
Diamond shook her head.  
"Lemme see 'im."

She followed Merry into the bushes to a very intoxicated Pippin, flat on his back. Diamond crouched down beside him and held up two fingers.  
"Pip, no games, tell me how many fingers you see."  
Pippin stared long and hard at her hand for a while before answering,  
"What fingers?"

Merry and Diamond glanced at each other.  
"Come on then," Merry said, "we'd best start carrying him."  
With Diamond at his head and Merry at his feet, they slowly began to bear Pippin down the road. He seemed to be slowly coming to, and they could eventually let him walk, but with help. Though his thought train seemed to be coming back, he still had an interesting shade.  
"Merry, he's not gonna make it to the Smials. Even if he does, his mother is going to go balistic."  
"Good point, Bag End's not far, we can take him there."  
Pip obviously had no say in the matter, so the three all stumbled along to Bag End.   
"Merry, Bilbo's either gonna welcome us or slam the door in our faces."  
"I know that, just keep your chin up and hope its the former."

They approached the round green door of Bag End and Merry struggled to get a hand free and knocked. After a few minutes, Bilbo came to the door. He looked them up and down for a few minutes. He stared especially at Pippin, who wasn't doing a very good job of trying to look completely sober. Before Merry or Diamond could give a word of explanation, Bilbo stood aside to let them in.  
"You three can stay here tonight. I know Miss Eglatine would probably blame it all on you if you tried to take 'im home." 

Once Pippin was put in a spare room and dead asleep, Merry and Diamond sat in front of the fireplace for a while. Merry spilled the whole story about Pippin's plan. Diamond only shook her head again.  
"I was expecting something to happen at the party. Pippin's been a trouble maker for every day of the 17 years I've known him. Makes me wonder sometimes why I even bother to correct him sometimes, since I know that he's never going to give up."

At that moment, Frodo walked in and joined them.  
"I visited Pip. Sleeping like a hobbit-babe, I don't envy the headache he'll have when he wakes up."

And indeed, Pippin did wake up with a headache. An extremely awful one. He sat up and put one hand to his forehead. He recognized that he was in Bag End, but how he got there was beyond anything he could remember. His head continued to pound and throb and he looked around for some blunt object so he could knock himself out. At that moment, the door squeaked open and Diamond waltzed in. 

"Comfortable, Pip?"  
"If comfortable means a splitting headache, then yes, quite."  
Diamond giggled and sat down beside him. He leaned his head back on the pillow and looked up at her.  
"Di, I-I'm sorry for being hypocritical yesterday."

"It's alright. The criticism lets me know what mistakes to correct."

Pippin nodded and a thick silence filled the room. It was broken suddenly when Merry burst into the room. He was quickly followed by Frodo, who was in turn followed by Frodo's friend, Samwise. Merry skidded to a stop, but Frodo ran into his back, as did Sam, and all three fell head over heels onto the bed. All of them laughed and soon it turned into a rough play fight between the four hobbit boys. Pretty soon they had all fallen off the bed and were wrestling on the floor, kicking, shoving, and laughing. Diamond tried to sneak around them unnoticed, but to no avail. Pippin looked up and saw her.  
"Hey! Where do you think you're sneaking off to?"

He grabbed her ankle and the next thing she knew, she was in the midst of it all. She played along, laughing the whole time. Eventually, they all got tired out and stopped. They were too exhausted to get up, so they stayed in a pile. Diamond smiled. Pippin was underneath her stomach, Frodo was sprawled across her back, Sam had a hold on her foot, and Merry was flopped on top of the whole pile. She could hardly breathe, but she was happy.  



	4. No Secret to Tell

Needless to say, the four where soon kicked out of the massive Bag End, told to go someplace else until they learned to improve the silence. Laughing and joking, the five sauntered down the small road. Each hobbit was energetic, talking to everyone else at once, not caring if they weren't heard; it was simply for the joy of talking with one another. Suddenly, a voice pierced their conversation. Now, there is a fine line between shrill and simply high pitched. The owner of this voice was flirting with that line.  
"Oh, there you are!"

Hannah Noakes was happily trotting down the road towards them. Merry, Sam, Frodo, and Diamond all groaned inwardly. Pippin groaned outwardly and Diamond ground her elbow into his ribs. It wasn't so much of Hannah's annoying, prissy, over-dramatic, outrageous and downright ridiculous behavior that bothered them the most, it was the fact that she was of the Noakes family. Noakes' where known to be considerably....well....dense. Though the Noakes' knew nought of it, they were the butt of almost every joke or chiding remark in Hobbiton. Hannah cheerfully pushed her way into the group of four, putting her arm around Diamond's shoulder, blowing a kiss to Merry, ignoring Sam, and openly making eyes at Frodo. All conversation that had existed previously was silenced and filled by the pointless, non-stop prating of Hannah. Diamond had to repeatedly force herself not to roll her eyes. Sam hummed to himself, attempting to drown out the babble in his mind. Merry stared off into space, wondering what dinner was going to be, offering the occasional, "Yes, of course," or an absent nod. Frodo reasoned to himself about the idea of retreat while concentrating fiercely on a blade of grass he was rolling around in his fingers. Pippin shamelessly ignored Hannah's chatter and began cooking up more mischievous deeds. Soon, each hobbit gave the excuse that "they had to get home" and would scamper off, thanking heaven that they were free. However, Diamond and Pippin didn't have it so easy. Pippin lived across the water, and it was a long way to the Smials. Diamond lived just north of the Tooks, even farther. Hannah wasn't fazed at all. She didn't even come up for air as she continually chattered and gossiped about any topic that came to her mind. Pippin wracked his brain over and over again, trying to find some way to escape. Then, an idea popped into his mind. It wasn't a very good one, provided, but, Hannah was pretty dim....Pippin suddenly stopped and began to walk in a different direction, calling after himself,   
"Well, I regret that I must be gone, I shall see you two later."  
Then, Pippin stopped and stared especially hard at Diamond.  
"Don't worry about **looking for me**, I'm not getting into **any trouble at all**."  
With that, he darted off.  
Hannah just nodded and waved goodbye; Diamond took the hint immediately, even though she was a bit mad at Pip for leaving her alone with Hannah. She allowed Hannah to go on for a little more.  
"Well, Hannah, I believe that I should probably go and look for Master Peregrin. Who knows what sort of trouble he may be getting into."  
Diamond turned to leave, but was stopped short by Hannah's hand on her arm.  
"Wait, Diamond, I need to ask you a question."  
Hannah seemed mysteriously serious, and Diamond was almost frightened by it.

"What is it, Hannah?"

Hannah looked down at her feet for a few awkward moments, then looked back up.  
"How do you do it?"

Diamond gave a quizzical look.  
"How do I do what?"

"How do you get all of the handsome hobbits to surround you? You must have some sort of trick to it! Such a lucky girl...."  
Diamond raised her eyebrows.  
"Handsome hobbits? What, you mean, Frodo and Pippin and the others?"  
Hannah said nothing, but Diamond noticed that she seemed to flush disgustingly when she mentioned Pippin. 

"Listen, Hannah, they're all just good friends! I've known Pippin and Merry and Frodo since I was little!"  
But Hannah was not convinced.  
"Oh come now, Diamond, tell me your secret. Surely you aren't that stingy...."  
"Hannah, there isn't any secret to tell!"  
Hannah immediately stuck out her bottom lip ever so slightly.  
"Please?"  
Diamond ignored her and turned on her heel to search for Pippin, leaving a fuming Hannah behind.

There was some little nagging, gnawing thought in the back of Diamond's brain that, no matter how hard she ignored it, continued to nag and gnaw and pester. She constantly shoved it to the side; it was making her mad. It only made her search for Pippin even more frustrating. Where was that confounded Took?  
She searched the glade where she had been writing yesterday, she went back to Bag End, she traveled even as far as the Smial's. Finally, she sat down just outside of Hobbiton, disappointed. Her hunt had been fruitless. _Fruitless..... _Then, she remembered the one spot that she hadn't checked.

_______________________________________________________  
Yeah, I know it was a short chapter, but I hope to have the next one up soon! ^_^ Leave a review if you liked it!  



	5. Another Shortcut to Mushrooms

She gently pushed a cornstalk out of her way, feeling incredibly insignificant, swimming among this vast sea of green. She turned in a slow circle, knowing exactly where she was, yet lost. She turned to her left, struggling through a thick patch of stalks. She did her best to be quiet; if Farmer Maggot caught her in his fields, he wouldn't ask any questions and his dogs would soon show her the way out. 

"Pip?" she whispered, "Pip, are you here?"

She moved over to another patch.  
"Are you there?"

She moved to yet another cluster.

"Are you anywhere?"

Suddenly, she felt the familiar hands come around from behind her and cover her eyes.

"Well, its either Pippin or Farmer Maggot has a merciful bone in his body."

Pippin withdrew his hands, laughing quietly around the stolen carrot sticking out of his mouth. He plopped down on the ground.

"Well, I see you managed to escape certain death by boredom."

Diamond nodded and sat down by him.  
"Just barely."

She reached across and swiped the carrot out of his mouth. It was half way to her own mouth before he lunged and snatched it back.   
"Get your own!" he said, smiling, finishing off the carrot. Diamond smiled as well, but only for a little while before she lapsed into a thoughtful yet disturbing silence. Pippin sensed her troubled air and became serious.

"What's wrong, Di?"

"Hmm? Oh...nothing."

Which was, of course, an untruth. She was in a sort of battle against that pestering little thought in the back of her mind. She didn't, under any circumstances, want to think about it, so she continued to shove it farther and farther back. Pippin knew that something was wrong though, and he knew he had to get her mind off of it. He leaned forward and gave his infamous, large, dreaded, and altogether fear-striking mischievous grin. 

"Maggot's mushrooms are looking pretty good this season."

He stood up and offered out his hand.

There was a time when Diamond would have said "no." There was a time when she would have told him that it was wrong. There was a time when she would've tried to stop him. But now, she smiled, accepted his hand, and went along with him.

Both of them knew how it was going to end, but they didn't care. It started out well. No dogs, no farmer, just them and the mushroom crop. They were happy, joyous, blissful as they ate mushrooms and joked and laughed. However, they soon became careless in their bliss, and their laughing and joking became loud. Their small festivities were pierced by the sound of vicious dog barks and shouted curses. They both knew that it was coming, sooner or later, so they didn't really panic, but laughed uproariously as they ran through the fields. They tumbled, fell, got back up, ran more, and fell again, laughing the entire time. Soon, Farmer Maggot gave up and called his dogs back, muttering and grumbling to himself. They were clear of his property soon, and collapsed into a laughing heap. 

"Well, I'd say that was victorious, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, indeed," she nodded.

They both got up and brushed each other off, their laughter gradually subsiding.

Pippin started off in the direction of his home, waving goodbye to Diamond.

Diamond surprised herself when she felt a twinge of regret. _What is wrong with me? Normally, I'm overjoyed to see Pippin leave..._ That little thought came back, but she refused to listen. Smiling to herself, she headed along a different route to her own home. 

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Yes, another short chapter :-( Oh well, be looking forward to the next chap!!  
  



	6. Commercial Break, FFnet style

Though Diamond avoided Hannah Noakes a little more, her words kept coming back. It didn't help much when Delaney married, and that got Della all started on getting someone to court her. Della pressured Diamond about it constantly, telling her that she should start getting beaus now, while the time was ripe. Diamond would push it all aside, telling herself that she would never get caught up in that ridiculous game........

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Sorry if I'm disappointing you, but this is only a transition. Sort of like when you watch a two part movie on TV........the next chapter should be up soon. As they say on TV...  
TO BE CONTINUED

Okay, so that makes it sound like I'm going to wait forever to write it......scratch that. Next chapter up very soon!


	7. Sycophant

Change seemed almost as drastic as the change of seasons. Everything seemed amiss after Bilbo's extraordinary party. All of Hobbiton was shocked. Even though Diamond herself hadn't gone to the party, she had been readily informed of what had happened.   
Each hobbit seemed to change individually as well. Everyone noticed that Frodo seemed to go through some change. His behavior was quite serious, and sometimes, he seemed like he was hiding something. It was most prominent during the weeks after Gandalf left. Pippin and Merry's behavior stayed mostly the same, or got worse. But mostly, the hobbits noticed Diamond's major and awkward change. They rarely ever talked to her nowadays, and she rarely ever saw them. She seemed too busy, courting, waltzing around in some sort of fantasy world that made her oblivious to them. Eventually, they stopped trying and focused on their own lives and decisions.

"Ilberic Bracegirdle, of all the hobbits here, I'd say you are the most promising!"

This statement was met with many interjections from the other hobbits surrounding Diamond. This started the regular matches of who could offer her the most and in the largest quantity in exchange for her love. Diamond smiled at them all and hopped up onto the short stone garden wall that the group had approached. She stayed her balance on her feet and pulled up her skirts. Surveying the assemblage, she gave an irresistible smile and stepped back out of the reach of the hobbits.   
"Now, now, you all know that I can't have all of you."  
She smiled outwardly, but on the inside she was slightly disgusted. She enjoyed the attention, and if it meant acting like a priss, then so be it. She had stopped writing quite a while ago. She had no time or energy for it.

She scooped Ilberic's hat off of his head, placing it on her own and deftly pranced along the narrow edge wall. As the throng crowded around her, she tossed the hat up into the air, letting it fall among them. They became distracted by the hat, reacting like hobbit boys did, scrabbling for it. She ran a little farther along the wall, going into a sort of light, carefree dance. She twirled, lost her footing, and fell. By some miracle, she was caught and she started to thank whichever hobbit had won the instant fight as to who would catch her. However, there was a slight problem. She had been caught, but in an awkward way in which her rescuer's hand was over her eyes. She frowned slightly at this.  
"Not in the mood to guess I suppose?"  
That voice. She smiled broadly and pulled the hand off her eyes.

"Pippin, it's you!!"  
She wrapped her arms around him in a joyous embrace, almost choking him in the process. He set her down on the ground and struggled for air. She broke away and grinned at him.

"I haven't seen you in almost a year! What have you been doing?"

"Dad's been keeping me busy farming around Tuckborough. I'm apparently his most valued worker." Pippin rolled his eyes and smirked. Diamond smiled back.

"And are you?"

Pippin began to answer, but he was cut off.

"Peregrin! Come!"

"We don't have all day!"  
Diamond looked past Pippin and caught sight of two hobbitesses, probably about her age give or take a few years, well dressed. When Diamond looked back to Pippin, he was concentrating fiercely on his feet. Diamond coughed politely and perhaps a bit awkwardly.  
"So, you say that you've been working for your father?"  
"Hmm? Oh yes, well, I plan on quitting soon. I wasn't cut out to be a farmer."

Diamond looked past him again at the two hobbitesses.  
"And who are your two attractive followers?"  
Pippin blushed.

"The one on the left is Myrtle Burrows. The other is Angelica Goodbody. How about the throng of hobbits that you seem to have brought along?"  
Diamond also blushed in turn.  
"I haven't the foggiest. It's a mixture of Bracegirdles, Noakes, and Boffins."  
She again looked over his shoulder, and Pippin caught a small smile in her eyes.  
"Well, it would appear that your entourage has taken quite nicely to my entourage, leaving the two of us relatively free to escape."  
Pippin turned slowly, and sure enough, the two hobbitesses had been surrounded by the ever so fickle hobbit men. Diamond took off on a light run for the glade, with Pippin soon after her. Once there, the two sat down, laughing for a little while. However, they soon became serious.  
"Pip, you're not.....involved with either of those two girls, are you?"  
"Them? Oh, no, my sisters tried to set me up, but it didn't take."  
He leaned back against a tree trunk.

"What about you? You aren't engaged to any of those half wits back there are you?"

She shook her head fiercely.

"No, not at all. It's all an act. Something that I, too, must blame on my sisters."  
"Good. If any of those idiots comes close to marrying you, I'll give them a good hearing out. I'll knock them from here all the way to Brandy hall."

Diamond flushed incredibly and covered her red cheeks with her hands.

"Pippin, you've turned into a shameless flatterer. No wonder those two are practically your disciples."

Pippin grinned lopsidedly at her.

"Why not flatter? It seems to be working."  
This only made her blush even more and she laughed in spite of herself. From that point, they continued to talk, exchanging questions, opinions, and catching up on everything. They walked all over as they spoke late into the day. It was evening by the time they had reached Diamond's home just north of the Smials. He walked her to the door. 

"Pip, it was good getting to know you again after a year."  
Pippin just smiled and shuffled his feet. Diamond suddenly leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before quickly turning and shutting the door. It had only been a peck, but Pippin felt his head swimming and his stomach doing somersaults. He felt giddy, drunk, excited. That night, he danced his way home.  
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Ready everybody? One....Two....Three! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!  
Hope you liked this chapter. Leave a review. Next chapter in progress.

  


  



	8. Settling Down

The days and months following were filled with making up for the year lost between them. They spent time with Merry and Sam and Frodo, but mostly with just themselves. They argued, which was their favorite pastime. They argued about Bilbo's disappearance, about rumors that had spread about various topics, even about whether or not they should set Angelica Goodbody up with Merry. Usually, the arguments ended in a standoff. Both were incredibly stubborn, especially Pippin, and neither was willing to accept defeat. Yes, more whispers were caused. The rumor and murmur of affiancment was as rampant as a wild fire. Diamond shook her head at all these rumors; Pippin thought about them. Diamond began to think too. Considering it seemed to cause a great burden to be put on her mind, so she didn't think about it too much. It was such a strange thought, she and Pippin together. Pippin was everything like a brother, yet anything but a brother. She eventually grew frustrated. She wasn't even of age yet, and neither was he. Why think about that now? She still had time to enjoy with Pippin. She would shove everything to the back of her mind, and simply free herself by galumphing off somewhere with Pip. Days would pass, Months, Seasons. All of it in bliss. She never did return to her writing. She had left her book in the glade many months ago, in a hole, covered by a rock. When she and Pippin had been younger, they had made that small sort of hiding place. They stored any "treasure" that they had found. Whether it be a small, shiny comb that Pippin had stolen off of Pervinca's dresser, or a tiny, perfectly round cobblestone that Diamond had found on the side of the road, it was considered valuable. Now, it was solely the resting place for her book. They were, in fact, in the glade right now, resting, eating a few apples that they had successfully lifted. Pippin leaned back against a tree trunk, watching Diamond. He set his hand down on a rock, but it slid, revealing the small hiding place. Pippin looked, and plucked the book out of the soft ground. It was still intact, though the cover was badly water damaged. As he thumbed through the pages, Diamond came over to look at the book with him. The words on the pages were still clear, as if they had been written only a few days ago.   
"Why don't you write anymore?" he inquired as he continued to flip pages.  
Diamond shook her head.   
"No time anymore. My creativity has run thin."  
Pippin closed the book and carefully put it back in its spot. They both stood up; Diamond wiping her dress off and Pippin tossing away an apple core. He turned to leave, then noticed that Diamond was staring off through the trees wistfully, almost longingly.   
"Di?"

This broke whatever concentration she had and she looked over to him. Almost out of habit, she fluttered her eyelashes a little. Pippin attempted to lean against a tree but missed. Diamond couldn't help but laugh at the site of Pip, in a tangled mess on the ground, his look of half shock incredibly comical. She rushed over to him, a look of sympathy on her face. Pip smiled inwardly and groaned a little just to seem more helpless. Diamond saw through this act as well. Upon reaching him, she kicked him playfully and ran off laughing. Pip's half shocked look turned into a full shocked look and he soon ran after her as well, cursing that he was starting to run out of acts she couldn't see through.

Pippin ran on and on, but Di kept outwitting him, and he couldn't catch up. He soon stopped, panting, and gave up trying to catch her. He began a casual stroll down the lane, thinking about nothing, seeing what there was to see. It was in this state that Frodo caught him just outside of Bag End, and Pippin was reluctantly recruited in helping pack up Bag End, and ship it off to Crickhollow, where Frodo was moving. Everyone was a bit sad that Frodo was moving out of Bag End, but it was comforting to know that he wasn't moving too far from Hobbiton. The day after everything had been sent off, Pippin noticed that Frodo seemed incredibly anxious. He would often stroll out to the main road coming into Hobbiton and look for something, or maybe, someone. Whoever that someone was, they didn't seem to be arriving any time soon, if at all.

The next day was Frodo's birthday, also the anniversary of Bilbo's disappearance. The party, if it could be called one, was quite small. Frodo had a small farewell dinner, to which he only invited Merry, Pip, and two other hobbits that had helped him move. Pippin refused to be solemn during this event, even though Frodo was leaving. The three talked for a long time around the table, reminiscing of days gone by when they were much younger, joking with each other about present events, and planning future ones. Pippin had volunteered himself to go with Frodo, helping him move the last few things that were still left. He thought it would be nice to travel with Frodo one last time before Frodo moved and he planned on being home soon after. The

room was almost bare, except the tables and chairs. Even though Bag End would soon belong to the Sackville-Baggines, it was still home tonight.

"Whatever happens to the rest of my stuff, when the Sackville-Bagginses get their claws on it, at any rate I have found a good home for this!" exclaimed Frodo merrily, and he drained his glass. Merry laughed and took a swig of his own ale, turning to Frodo.  
"Speaking of homes, when you get to Crickhollow, are you planning on.....settling down at all?"  
The other hobbits at the table all guffawed and those nearest Frodo nudged him and playfully shoved him. Frodo turned a lovely shade of fuchsia. Pippin hit the table and grinned broadly at Frodo.  
"Come on Frodo, we know you've been making eyes at Lila Sandydowns!"  
This wasn't necessarily true, but it wasn't necessarily false either. Frodo merely turned even redder.  
"Of course I'm not!"  
Everyone chortled some more and took deep swigs of their ale and wine. Merry then decided that it was time to move to Pippin.   
"What about you Pippin?"  
Pippin tried desperately not to blush.  
"What about me?"  
"Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about. No one in Hobbiton isn't talking about you and Diamond. It's even starting to reach Brandy Hall!"  
Pippin blushed all the way to the points of his ears. He knew that if he said anything that was on his mind, he would only embarrass himself. Merry only laughed and pushed him lightheartedly.  
"When are you gonna pop the question? When?!?!?"  
"Yeah, when?"  
"You've got to!"  
"Vera í are!"  
Pippin sort of scrunched up into his shirt collar, trying to disappear. He gave a bit of an impression of a turtle pulling its head into its shell. He peered intently into his mug of ale.  
"Who says I'm going to ask at all?" he mumbled.  
Dead silence permeated the room until Frodo broke it.  
"But Pippin....why not?"  
Pippin had no answer.

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Yay! Another hard earned chapter completed! Leave a review! I love hearing from you guys!

  



	9. Commercial Break: The Sequel

That night, after Pippin had headed off from Bag End, he stared up at the stars. Diamond, he knew, had always loved the stars in the night sky. He had caught her, more than once, wistfully staring up at the dark sky, the look of her face one of pure peace and joy mixed into one. Pippin found that he was smiling to himself, just thinking about her.   
_Cut that out now, Pip. Next thing you know, you'll be bloody well sick with infatuation; that won't help you at all when you have to leave tomorrow.  
_Pippin shook his head. He couldn't help it. Forget about sick with infatuation. He had to ask her. He would ask her. Wouldn't. Would. Wouldn't. Would. Wouldn't. Would. Headache.   



	10. A Longer Journey

The next day, Pippin was restless as he took tea with Sam and Frodo. His brazen edge had gotten dull, and it was all he could do to keep from quivering with nervousness. As he strapped up his pack, his hands kept slipping, or he would tie something in the wrong way, and have to do it all over again. He didn't notice the constant stares he received from the other two. Having finally gotten the job done, he piled it on top of the other two sacks and left it on the porch. He took a deep breath, crossed his fingers, tried to cross his toes but ended up with a really bad cramp in his foot, and escaped down to the garden, where he knew Diamond would most likely be on a day like this, which promised for a clear, starry night.   


Diamond happily paced along the worn garden path. The sun was sinking into the west, and she knew that the stars would be bright tonight. She gracefully scooped up a few flowers and put them randomly in her slightly wavy, yet not quite curly hair, which was down and splayed around her shoulders. She reached the small garden fence and leaned up against it. She heard something behind her. Upon turning around, she discovered Pippin.  
"Pip! I didn't think you'd still be here! Aren't you supposed to be on your way to Crickhollow with Frodo?"  
"Not yet. I just wanted to take a walk before we left."  
She smiled, but noticed that he seemed a little beside himself. Pippin's stomach writhed, and he almost threw up from the nervousness. Suddenly, he felt some sort of resolve. He shoved down his fear all the way down into nothingness. His boldness came back. It was either now or never.  
"Pip? What's wrong?"  
Pippin turned around and leaned his stomach against the fence and she did likewise. He looked at her for a moment, staring into the bluish green pools of her eyes.   
"Last night, at Frodo's farewell dinner.....they talked about settling down. And, well, I thought about it....and it gave me almost a sort of peace. The thought made me happy."  
Diamond listened to Pippin attentively, trying to see what he was getting at.   
"And...well...I...."  
Pippin started to falter but he wouldn't allow himself. He slowly took her hand in his and looked at her for a little while before continuing.   
"And, I know now, from the time we've spent together, only one more thing that could make me happier than that."  
Diamond now knew what he was coming around to. A sudden wave of anxiousness and fear washed over her. She felt nervous, afraid. She desperately wanted to pull her hand out of his....but...yet, she didn't want to. Then she noticed how intently Pip was staring at her. She couldn't think straight.   
"Pippin...no...don't...we----"  
She was cut off abruptly as he leaned in and kissed her. Her mind was like a whirlpool. She was incapable of thinking. She only went by some inner instinct. He continued to lean into her and pull her closer, but she was pushing him. She only knew that they had to stop and stop now. She freed her arms from his embrace, refusing to return the kiss, and used all of her strength to push him. Pippin obviously took the hint, because he immediately broke away. Diamond kept her hands on his shoulders, just to keep some distance between them.  
"Pippin....what do you think you are doing?"  
Pippin looked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
"Diamond, I have loved you since the moment I clamped eyes on you! What could be more logical than to marry you?"  
"I...We....We can't!"  
"Why not? It makes perfect sense!"  
"Pippin, can you imagine us living together?!?! We're both incredibly, obnoxiously, ridiculously, stupidly bull-headed, especially you. We would murder each other!!"  
Pippin laughed and shook his head.  
"I don't care about that! I only know that I want to be with you. We could find a small place near Brandy Hall...or maybe even by Crickhollow. The point is, we could find someplace away from Hobbiton. We'll be out of the eyes and ears of all those gossipy hens that have talked about you your whole life. You won't have to write to escape anymore, Diamond, we'll just have each other."  
He had been coming progressively closer, so Diamond gently pushed him again.

"But....I'm not cut out for you Pippin! You need someone who can take care of you. Someone who can actually cook. I burn water, Pippin! Do you want to marry someone who can burn water?!?!"  
Pippin smiled and put his hands on her face.  
"I only know I want to marry you."  
Diamond couldn't seem to get ahead. She was almost to the point of terror.   
"Pippin....please. Don't choose me," she whispered pleadingly.  
There was a change in Pippin's countenance. He had been slightly smiling, but now the smile vanished. He withdrew from her and leaned against the fence, turning his head. Diamond now knew that it was her turn to talk. She had to give a reason; she could think of none. She moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder, but he quickly shrugged it off.  
"Pippin....I do care about you. I love you; you're my dearest, dearest friend. But, Pippin, I can't just go and be your wife. We're not even of age yet."  
But Pippin didn't listen. She knew that he was trying his best to not let his emotions overcome him. Diamond tried to put her hand on his shoulder again, but now he moved away. The movement was more violent than subtle. He turned to her, constantly blinking back that which he refused to call tears.   
"Diamond, you're all that I know."  
Now Diamond had to blink back tears.  
"Peregrin, please...."  
"No, Diamond, I'm leaving. Thank you for-for-for making me believe that we could have had something."  
She grabbed his arm in a last attempt to keep him there, but he pulled away, not caring to hide his anger in the action. He walked away from the garden, forcing himself to put on a masked expression for Frodo and Sam.  
Diamond slid down onto her knees beside the fencepost. He was gone now. Gone. She tried to snap out of it. He was only going to Crickhollow and back, a journey of only a few mere days. But something deep within her told her that his journey would be longer, much longer than expected. She knew that he may not be back for a very long time. She buried her face in her hands.   
Above, there were no clouds in the sky.  
The first star came out.  
  
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Wow...I could just leave it off right here......  
No, I wouldn't be as cruel as that. I have big plans for the rest!  
Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon.  


  



	11. Unbearable

Della ran. She took deep breaths, trying to pump the oxygen into the rest of her body, forcing herself to continue. It was urgent that she get over to Delaney's, and fast. As soon as it had happened, Della had sprinted away from her own hole, leaving her husband there with Mother. Della reached her sister's hobbit hole and pulled open the round door.   
"Delaney! Delaney, quick!!!"  
Della ran through the house, searching in every room. She found Delaney's husband in the kitchen, where he directed her to the bedroom. There, Della found Delaney, kneeling on the bed, her arms around Diamond, who had her head in Delaney's lap. Della's franticness was forgotten for a few moments.   
"Diamond? Poor baby sister! Are you ill?"  
Diamond could only shake her head and wipe her eyes. Della looked up at Delaney for an explanation.   
"She refused Pippin."  
Della rushed over to Diamond and took her hand gently.  
"Surely it was a mistake! Can't you take it back? Why don't you tell him that you've changed your mind?"  
Diamond shook her head again and squeezed Della's hand. Delaney also shook her head, then looked up at Della.  
"You rushed in here awfully quick. What's the news?"  
Della's countenance fell.  
"I-It's Mother. Ther-There's something wrong with her. We think she's ill."  
Delaney's eyes opened wide.  
"Did you fetch a doctor? How sick is she? What are the symptoms? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"  
"The doctor is on his way. I ran over as soon as it happened."  
Soon after, all three hobbitesses were running over to Della's, panting from exertion. Sorrel had been laid in Della's bed.  
"She was perfectly fine, then she just fainted. When she woke up, she complained about a pain in her chest," Della explained.  
The three girls crowded around their mother's bed. Diamond now felt foolish for crying about Pippin, when here her own mother was in an awful condition. The doctor arrived, and the three stood back, crying quietly, as he inspected her. When he was done, he pulled Delaney to the side.  
"Her heart's failing. There's nothing to be done, unless I bleed her."  
Delaney quickly shook her head, thanked the doctor, and took Della along with her to show him out. Diamond was alone with her mother. Sorrel turned to her daughter.  
"Well, it's just us for once."  
Diamond nodded and rested her head on the bed.  
"Child, what's wrong? Why do you cry?"  
Diamond wanted to say that she was crying solely for her mother, Sorrel, but she knew that her mother would see right through it.  
"I refused Pippin."  
To Diamond's surprise, Sorrel smiled.  
"Is that all? Dear, you shouldn't be beating yourself up about that!"  
Diamond cocked her head to one side.  
"What do you mean?"  
"That means that there's always another day coming. Whether that day means that you accept Pippin or accept someone else, its still another day for opportunity."  
"I guess you're right."   
As Diamond sighed and rested her head on the bedside again, Sorrel reached over and ran her fingers through her hair.  
"Ah Diamond. You were always an odd girl. You remind me so much of me when I was your age. Different from everyone else. But you were always special to me. My child, I'd hate to admit this, but I think that I favor you above your sisters. I love your sisters as much as you, but I favor you. You always looked at life from a different perspective."  
Sorrel groaned from another pang in her chest, then continued.  
"Diamond, everyone else will talk about you. Yes, they will talk enormously about you, but if you don't listen, then it doesn't matter what they say. Nothing that they say will matter. Only you do."  
"Diamond, don't let your talent die. Writing is your only way of transport from this life, to another. That is your talent, Diamond, you must use it. Your writing is your legacy; you must put yourself into it. Your body, your heart, your soul must go into your writing. You need to find the courage to do that."  
This was now the second time Diamond had heard this. She tried. How hard she tried! But she just couldn't find that courage.   
_Bump, rattle...._  
Diamond heard the window behind her. A wind was blowing it, and it was hitting the wall. She reluctantly left her mother's bedside and closed the window. She looked over to her Mother, and her mind refused to believe. Sorrel's eyes were closed. Diamond had no more tears to cry, but the pain inside was unbearable.  


  


  



	12. Endless, Nameless

It was only hours after the funeral, and Diamond couldn't think. The whole time she had been denying. Denying everything. She had kept it all in. She hadn't cried since 4 days ago when Pippin had left. She was numb, but she knew that she was only lying to herself. She didn't want to feel the pain, but she knew she was close to the breaking point. She wandered all over Hobbiton, still dressed in black. She didn't care where she went. Wandering into the glade, she could feel herself breaking. Losing it. She ran. She ran as far as she could. Ran away from the pain, the hopelessness. She ran deeper into the forest, turned. She found herself in Farmer Maggot's fields. They were a deep green at this season, and she shoved stalks out of the way as she ran farther and farther. Her throat burned; her mouth was dry. Breathing felt like knives stabbing her sides, but she forced herself on. Her legs were lead, and her feet were stone, but she forced herself on. A wave of nausea overcame her, and her legs gave out. She fell flat, still in the cornfield. She couldn't run from it any longer. She cried everything out. Bittersweet tears flowed over her cheeks and fell to the ground. Another wave of nausea racked her body, and she gagged. She didn't fight the gagging, and she vomited. Rolling over, she put her hand to her forehead. Fever raged in her head, and she forced herself to stagger to her mother's hobbit hole, which was now hers. On the way, she stopped by the glade and picked up her book. Putting herself to bed with a cup of tea, she started to write, but couldn't. She set her book on the floor by her bed and slipped off into a feverish sleep.   
  
A week passed. A week turned into 2 weeks. 2 weeks turned into a month. A month turned into 3 months. A season. Pippin hadn't come back, and no one had received word or even seen Frodo, Sam, or Merry. Diamond knew that they had gone somewhere else...had some adventure. And one day, Diamond sat down at her bed, picked up her book, tore out her previous story, and threw it into the fireplace. She sat and wrote. Wrote from her heart. She put her body, heart, and soul into this story that she was writing. Another 2 months passed. The story still wasn't finished. Another 4 months passed. The story wasn't finished. After a few more months of writing, Diamond was stuck. She was on her last chapter, but had no ending to the story. Along with no ending, there was no title.   
The story had started out as a fictional tale that took place in the Shire. It was about a group of hobbits, and Diamond had not realized up until a little while ago that she was writing solely about Pippin, Merry, Frodo, Sam, and herself. She hadn't planned at all on sticking straight to the events as they truly happened. She planned on creating an ending for herself, something that wasn't true. But now, even with a planned fictional ending, she couldn't think of one. Her writing was, again, put aside. 

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Well, it wasn't short enough to be a commercial break; it wasn't long enough to be a chapter. So it's a "commapter"  
^_^

Well, I'm struggling through a period of writer's block so it might be a while until the next chap, but I'm working on it!


	13. Dreams

Night upon countless night plagued Diamond with nightmares. Shadowed forms lurked about in her mind, whispering foul curses and muttering dark words. They danced upon graves of those that she loved. There was always the noise of some ghastly sound.....it seemed a mixture of laughing and screams. If it was laughing, it sounded like that of a demon....if screaming, it sounded like it could have come from hell itself. Every night since Pippin had left, these dreams haunted Diamond. Every night, it was worse...Diamond came to view sleep merely as a psychological torture chamber.   
But tonight was different.  
As her eyelids slowly dropped, defying Diamond's will to stay awake, there was almost a sense of peace about her. In her dream, she felt calm and secure. She soon discovered that the source of this feeling was that she was in her mother's arms. She was only a little hobbit maid, wrapped in the warm and loving embrace of her mother. Young Diamond squirmed a little bit to a more comfortable position, scrunching up a little bit from the cold. Her mother looked down, smiled, and continued on. Diamond saw that they were outside, and it was dark out. They were in the middle of the woods not far from Hobbiton. Her mother's feet seemed to follow an invisible path, twisting and turning gracefully around trees, almost in a type of dance. In the dream, Diamond felt herself shiver. Her mother looked down again. As most things are in dreams, what her mother said was fuzzy, but the meaning came across. Something about how it wouldn't be much longer, that they were almost to their destination. Then, her mother carried her into a small clearing in the woods. Diamond watched from her mother's arms as her mother looked up at the sky, and with an expression that was too peaceful and joyous to put into words, sighed happily. She then looked back down to Diamond.  
"Diamond, look at the stars tonight!"  
Her mother's words were surprisingly clear, and Diamond looked up. Stars covered the expanse of the sky, glittering and shining. They seemed close enough to touch. And, again as what happens often in dreams, Diamond felt removed from her body. She was now simply watching the scene with her and her mother. Diamond watched herself burrow deeper into her mother's shoulder, and felt an incredible sense of sorrow and longing. She ached for that feeling of calm and security again. She wished that she had never taken that for granted. This wasn't just a dream...this was an actual memory. Suddenly, as Diamond's disembodied self turned around, she realized that she was standing in the forest glade that she had spent so much of her childhood in. She knew that her mother would take her out walking to look at the stars, but she never knew that her mother would take her to the glade. No wonder she felt such a sense of peace there, a sense of belonging. However, she had never consciously been in the glade when the stars were out. She never knew that there was such a view. 

Then, Diamond woke. She stared out into the pitch black and felt the sting of tears. She tried to shove them away, but the dream of her mother would not allow it. She slowly closed her eyes once more, and slipped off into sleep once again. 

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Hey wow! Another "commapter!"  
*dodges thrown objects*

Sorry! Yes, I know, I know, its not the most I could have written, but its better than nothing, right???


	14. Knocking Ruffians and Dinner Guests

Diamond awoke wrapped up in a blanket that wasn't hers, in a bed that wasn't hers, in a room that wasn't hers, and in a hobbit hole that was...you guessed it....not hers. It felt probably around time for elevensies, judging upon her growling stomach, but it was really much later in the afternoon. Diamond lay flat on her back in a state of blank confusion when a kindly voice interrupted her trance.

"I've never known anyone who can sleepwalk that far."  
Diamond sat up in bed and turned to the owner of the voice.

"Huh?"

Eglatine Took smiled warmly at Diamond from her chair near the bedside.

"Apparently, you're a sleepwalker, Diamond. I was out on my walk this morning and I came across you in the glade, standing up...but dead asleep!"  
"Oh..."  
Diamond rested her head onto the pillow. Now, she was starting to recognize the room. It was one of many in the great smial in which the Tooks, including Pippin, lived. Diamond closed her eyes momentarily. She had never sleepwalked in her entire life, why should she do so now?  
Eglatine gave a concerned look.  
"Diamond? Is everything alright, child?"  
Diamond halfheartedly nodded.

"Yes....it's just...funny that I ended up in the glade. You see, I had a dream....." Diamond trailed off.

Eglatine gave a knowing nod and smiled a little.  
"My own dear Peregrin had the same problem."  
Diamond gaped a little bit.

"Really?"  
Eglatine nodded again.  
"Yes. You don't know how many times I've found him huddled up in the pantry, stretched out in the garden, even curled up in the fireplace, covered with soot! And every single time, he would tell me about some farfetched dream that he had that somehow would lead him to all these strange places. Anyways, you should be more careful, young Diamond. It's not safe to be wandering about nowadays, what with these awful ruffians and brutes running about. I'm surprised I could even smuggle you half ways into Tookland."  
Diamond nodded her head. It was true, ever since the seeming "invasion" of the Shire by this so called Sharkey, there had been quite a tight watch on Tookland. No one could go in, and no one could go out, unless by a more crafty, sneaky way.   
Eglatine obliged Diamond to join her for tea...a late one at that. As Diamond sipped her hot tea carefully, she listened to stories that Eglatine told, mostly about Pippin. Diamond learned more about Pippin that afternoon than she would hope to learn over the course of a lifetime spent solely with him. She could tell that Eglatine was lonely, and needed someone to talk to. All of her children had moved out already, so Diamond felt sort of like a daughter to Eglatine that day. She could also tell that Eglatine missed her son achingly. Diamond could only imagine how it would feel to have your own child missing somewhere, not to hear of their welfare, or even whether or not they were still alive. At this thought, Diamond gave a start in her mind. Might Pippin be dead? An awful gnawing ache grew in her stomach, but she quickly shoved it away. He had to be alive. She could feel it. She turned her attention back to Eglatine.

"Ah, yes. My Peregrin. You probably won't believe me, but, he was my favorite. Yes, I loved all of my daughters just the same, but with Pippin, there was a favor. I suppose it's because he was my only son....most mothers can't resist favoring the only son in a group of daughters sometimes."  
Diamond could hardly believe her ears. Eglatine was quite unknowingly echoing Sorrel's very own words to Diamond. But then, her hearing was distracted. Faintly outside, she thought she could hear the clattering of hooves, and voices speaking. Her heart feared the worst, thinking that there might be some ruffians looking for someone to bully. She was about to warn Eglatine, when she heard a loud knock. Did ruffians knock? Diamond didn't think so. 

Outside, Pippin waited impatiently. There was no time to spare; the hobbits were now in a war protecting the Shire and Hobbiton. He glanced around the increasing group. He had started off to Tuckborough with 6 other hobbits. Now, after having gained the aid of other Tooks, relatives, and friends, he had more than a hundred fold. Now, he only needed to fetch his father, who would most definitely want to be involved in the action. He sighed and knocked again. When he had been on the quest with Frodo, he would dream of coming home in peace, to his mother's loving embrace, and to the joy of his sisters and father. But his dreams were now shattered, since he was now knocking madly at the door of his childhood home, more than a hundred others behind him on ponies and wielding pitchforks, clubs, knives, and other forms of weaponry. He could almost see it now.

__

Hullo, Mum. I'm back. No, these aren't our dinner guests.....

More loud knocking ensued, as Eglatine and Diamond looked at each other, not sure whether to open the door to friend or foe. More impatient knocks and rings of the doorbell. 

"Don't worry, Mrs. Took, I'll answer the door."

Diamond slowly moved to get up and walked into the large foyer. The sounds of stamping hooves and muted conversation became louder. They didn't sound like Big People voices, but instead that of hobbits. Relieved, she opened the door wide.  


Pippin rang the doorbell, almost breaking the clapper inside the bell. _Come on...come on...not much time...._

"Ay! Pippin! We 'avn't got all day now!" cried Everard Took, a distant cousin of Pippin's. Pippin turned his head towards him, his hand continuing to knock on the door. 

"I don't know what's taking so long!" And, as if to reestablish his sense of responsibility, "It's not my faul-"

He felt the door open and whipped his head back. His hand froze mid-knock. 

Diamond opened the door to see a balled up hand in the process of insane knocking. The owner's head whipped around towards the door and the hand froze. Diamond and Pippin stared at each other, neither moving an inch or batting an eye. Pippin couldn't believe his eyes. After a while, he blinked really hard, half expecting her to vanish, as she had in so many of his dreams. Diamond wanted to pinch herself to test reality too, but her hand wouldn't obey. Both hobbit's opened their mouths and closed them many times, not able to say a word. Pippin swallowed; or, he would have, if his mouth wasn't like a desert. Diamond felt dizzy; she was sure she was going to faint. She would have, if Paladin hadn't rushed out the door at that moment, Eglatine shortly behind him. Pippin was distracted momentarily from Diamond as he briefed his father. Diamond was also distracted momentarily from Pippin as Eglatine tried to lead her back inside. But Diamond refused to be led. She put her hand on the doorframe stubbornly. Pippin only knew that he needed to get away from Diamond before he forgot his entire cause and simply stayed. Hopping on a pony at the head of the group, he called out a sort of war cry and led the entire group off to the battle of the Shire.

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Yes! Finally, a chapter! *dances* I love it! More should be coming!

Love ya all!


	15. The Battle of Bywater

"Diamond, you are staying here."  
"I apologize, Mrs. Took, but I am going."  
Diamond turned at that point, trying to end the conversation, but Eglatine Took didn't give up that easy. She pulled Diamond back by her sleeve.  
"Listen here, young lass, I am not about to allow you to run off into some battle. You'll be injured or captured or killed or goodness knows what else! Besides, your young eyes shouldn't witness such a thing."  
Diamond shook her head stubbornly.   
"I don't care what you say, Mrs. Took, I have to go, I will go, and nothing or no one will stop me."  
Diamond pulled free and continued to make her way through the maze-like hobbit hole, progressing towards the door.   
"Diamond, you know better! If you go out there, I guarantee something will happen to you. I'm merely looking out for you welfare, child."  
Eglatine did her best to keep up with the rushing Diamond, following her to the door. Diamond opened the door.  
"Mrs. Took, your own son is out there, highly more likely to be hurt than I am. I will be careful, don't worry."  
"Diamond, your mother is already lost; must you be too?"  
Diamond froze, but only momentarily as she continued out, shutting the door behind her.  
  
Pippin dismounted, proudly showing off the large army behind him to Merry.   
"Will this do?"  
Merry grinned.  
"It will, indeed."  
After some strategic planning, all of the hobbits were in place for Merry's trap for the ruffians. Pippin watched half excitedly, half nervously as Merry dealt with the ruffians. However, the ruffians didn't seem so eager to comply to Merry's wishes. The Battle of Bywater had begun.

__

Weapon, weapon, I need a weapon....  
Diamond rushed hurriedly through her hobbit hole, searching high and low.   
_Just something for defense, I don't have any intention of going out and using it....  
_Diamond shook her head. That was the biggest fib she'd heard all night....  
Bursting into the kitchen, she almost ransacked it. Her labor was not entirely fruitless; she found a pairing knife. Satisfied, she ran out the door, struggling to pull a cloak on. She ran out back to a small, old stable. Inside was a small, yet sturdy pony that had belonged to her mother. The pony brightened a little at the sight of Diamond. Diamond briefly scratched the pony's ears before mounting.   
  
Pippin quickly drew his sword, ready for action. With a rush of adrenaline, he charged forward, yelling madly. The yelling was more to reassure himself than for intimidation. He made a split second decision of which brute he would take on first. He brandished his sword in front of him, thrusting and parrying like he had been so briefly taught. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Merry take on the ruffian leader. The leader was ogre like, with a bad, squinting eye. With half of his attention on Merry's battle, he almost lost an arm from a swing of the large sword belonging to his opponent.   
_Focus, Pippin, focus! Before you get your head chopped off next time!  
_He contracted his world, shrinking it smaller and smaller until it was only he and his opponent. He blocked, lunged, and slashed in a mad sort of dance. He felt sweat trickling down his neck and face and fatigue burning in his limbs, but he fought onwards.

Diamond trotted along at the achingly slow pace the pony had chosen as its current speed. She urged it slowly faster.   
_Go back.  
_Diamond heard her conscience, louder than she ever remembered it. It also seemed much clearer....almost as if someone was whispering softly in her ear.  
_Go back, you know you have to.  
**Oh, be quiet.  
**You very well know you won't last an instant out there.  
**Well, I can't just leave Pippin out there all on his own.  
**All on his own?   
**All on his own with a hundred others.  
**My point exactly.  
**I don't care.  
**_Diamond quickly shut out her conscience, or what was supposedly her conscience. She was nearing Bywater, and she knew Pippin would be there. She was about to spur the pony on more, but a blood curdling scream echoed from the very area she was headed. It was followed by a few more cries and the sounds of battle. She froze, willing her eyes to see farther. She could just barely make out a large group, a battle ensuing. Just faintly, on the edges of the large crowd, she could see the anonymous figure being stabbed or shot. More cries. And for the first time after setting out after Pippin, fear washed over her like ice water. This was followed by incredible feeling of ignominy. She felt like a coward as she slowly trotted back, in the opposite direction. Her conscience had been right, and her pride was injured.  


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Okay, this was meant to be longer, but I thought you probably wouldn't want to wait that long for something...so I posted this, more coming soon.


	16. Combat

Pippin had the upper hand of the battle, and he could feel it would soon be finished. He mentally squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared to deliver the killing blow, so as to not see the anguish on his opponent's face. As he felt his sword pierce flesh, he heard the sickening crunch of ribs being broken. As a last reflex, the ruffian brought his sword up clumsily and nicked Pippin's arm. Pippin's stomach flopped, but not from the sight of his own blood or the fact he was destroying life. He had the vaguest flash in his mind of when Boromir had been sparring with Merry and him. Training them. Preparing them for this very moment. He had been nicked in the same way. Back then, he recoiled, appalled at the pain, but he was different now. The hobbit he once was wasn't present in battle. Here was a stronger, weathered, and mature Pippin fighting for his home.   
The ruffian fell, and time seemed to slow incredibly. Pippin turned to see Merry's battle winding down in the same manner. Pippin whirled, only to face another attacker. Gathering energy and strength from who-knew-where, he crouched into a fighting stance.  
Diamond couldn't bear to go ashamedly back to Eglatine. Guiding the pony back into the stable, she found a patch of hay in the corner and sunk down. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she rocked and shivered from the cold. Slowly and quietly, she began to sing a song that she had heard long ago, but she didn't remember where.  
In western lands beneath the Sun,  
the flowers may rise in Spring,  
the trees may bud, the waters run,  
the merry finches sing.  
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night  
and swaying beeches bear  
the Elven-stars as jewels white  
amid their branching hair.  
   
Pippin slunk down to his knees, forced breath into his lungs. The battle was over. As the adrenaline coursing through his body subsided, fatigue saturated every muscle, joint, and bone of his body. He wasn't even aware of his sword slipping from his hand until he heard it clatter against the ground. Half crawling, half dragging himself to the side of the road, he curled up into a ball and was just about to fall into blissful slumber when he was rudely awoken by Merry gently prodding him with his sword.  
"Come on, Pip, time is of essence. You're not injured are you?"  
Pippin groaned, half tempted to say that he was injured, all for the sake that he would be left alone. He forced himself to stand, trying to ignore that annoying ache that seemed to happily occupy his entire body.   
"Come on, we're going out to Cotton's for some food."  
Pippin brightened a little at the mention of food, and he followed Merry.   
The few calm moments of Pippin's midday meal seemed far too short. Soon, he and the others were traversing out to Bag End, intending on apprehending Lotho.   
Inside Bag End, it was damp and rotting inside, full of filth and disorder.   
"Where is that miserable Lotho hiding?" said Merry.  
Pippin came out of a guest bedroom, some mangy rats scurrying away in terror ahead of him. No Lotho in there.  
"This is worse than Mordor!" cried Sam. He bent down and set a dining room chair upright, carefully trying to not break the damp wooden legs. "Much worse in a way. It comes home to you, as they say, because it is home, and you remember it before it was all ruined."  
Frodo sighed sadly, looking around the place that had once been his home.  
"Yes, this is Mordor. Just one of its works. Saruman was doing its work all the time, even when he thought he was working for himself. And the same with those that Saruman tricked, like Lotho."  
Merry became disgusted with it all.  
"Let's get out! If I had known all the mischief he had caused, I should have stuffed my pouch down Saruman's throat," he grumbled. Pippin nodded in agreement, thinking of his own ways of getting vengeance on Saruman. Suddenly, a voice interrupted all of their thoughts.  
"No doubt, no doubt! But you did not, and so I am able to welcome you home."  
Silhouetted in the doorway was Saruman. He looked much better than he had those months ago at that encounter on the road.   
Saruman? Why is he here, that scum?! Then, the thought broke on Pippin the same time Frodo spoke aloud.  
"Sharkey! You're Sharkey!"  
  
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Argh, this too was meant to be longer. I am SO sorry this took so long...with the ending of school coming up and finals and all, I am running out of writing time! :~( Anyway, leave your review, I haven't reached writer's block yet!  
   
   
   
  


	17. Gift from the Lady

Saruman chuckled grimly. "So you've heard the name, have you? All my people used to callme that in Isengard, I believe. A sign of affection possibly. But evidently you did not expect to see me here."

Pippin could almost see a look of annoyance on Frodo's face, as if he were dealing with an unruly child instead of a powerful wizard.

"I did not," said Frodo. "But I might have guessed. A little mischief in a mean way: Gandalf warned me that you were still capable of it." 

As Saruman went on with mocking them and about his plans, Pippin had a great desire to merely attack now and ask questions never. He was about to do so before Frodo cut in.

"Well, if that is what you find pleasure in," said Frodo, "I pity you. It will be a pleasure of memory only, I fear. Go at once and never return!"

During all of this, hobbits had been crowding around the open door of Bag End. When they heard Frodo, they called out their own commandments.

"Don't let him go!"  
"Kill the murderer!"

"Get that villain!"

But yet again, Frodo ordered him away.  
"It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing. Go, Saruman, by the speediest way!"

Saruman turned and called, "Worm!"

Like a reprimanded pet, Wormtongue crawled out of a nearby hut. Saruman turned to leave, Wormtongue following behind him. But when Saruman passed by Frodo, Pippin glanced the flash of a knife as Saruman stabbed Frodo quickly. The knife broke against the mithril coat, leaving Frodo more surprised than hurt. That was it for Sam. He leapt, along with a dozen other hobbits, including Pippin, and pinned Saruman to the ground. Pippin and Sam both drew their swords and were about to make short work of Saruman when Frodo reprimanded them.  
"No! Don't kill him even now! He hasn' t hurt anyone, and besides, I don't wish for him to be killed in this evil mood. He is fallen, and his cure is beyond us; but I would still spare him, in the hope that he may find it."

As Pippin clambered to his feet, he was certain that Frodo was mad. To think that this rotter could ever be good again was crazy. Saruman sneered at Frodo momentarily, then again turned to leave. Wormtongue hesitated, then followed his master.  
"You don't have to follow him, Wormtongue. You have done no evil to me; you are welcome to have rest and food here for a while."

Wormtongue again hesitated, but Saruman cackled.  
"Of course he has done no evil. He disappoints me with his incapacity to do so. But then of course, there was Lotho..."

Wormtongue merely cowered and whimpered.   
"Worm killed your precious Chief, your nice little boss. Stabbed him in his sleep I believe. Yes, Worm has done evil; you'd best leave him to me."  
"You told me to; you made me do it," Wormtongue snarled through clenched teeth.   
"And you obeyed my every word. Well, my word now is follow." Saruman kicked Wormtongue severely then started to leave. But in a flash, Wormtongue sprang up, drew a hidden knife, hopped onto Saruman's back, and slit his throat. He began to run off down the road, but he didn't get very far before three hobbit-bows twanged and three arrows stuck out of his back. 

"And that's the end of that," said Sam with a sigh. "A nasty end, and I wish that I hadn't seen it, but at least it's over."

"Hopefully the War is over too," added Merry.

"I hope so," said Frodo, sighing as well. "The very last stroke. To think that it should fall here, at the very door of Bag End! Among all my hopes and fears at least I never expected that."

"I won't call it the end until we've cleaned up the mess," said Sam. "And that will take a _lot_ of time."

Indeed, it did take time, but not as long as was expected. Every hobbit in Hobbiton was part of the job of repairing their home, including Diamond. But Diamond wanted to be reunited before having to go to work. She had to wait until all of the prisoners had been rescued from Lockholes, but it was well worth the wait. Crouching in a painful position, Diamond tossed through a pile of debris that was laying near where the Party Tree had been. It was a futile search to see if any of the small, green saplings that had once grown in abundance were still there. She was becoming quite disappointed with her search when a familiar voice interrupted her.  
"Excuse me, Miss Diamond, I was wondering if I could get your advice."

She turned around quickly, a large smile on her face.  
"Sam!"

Sam grinned as well.  
"It's nice to see you after so long, Miss Diamond. I hope you've kept well."  
Diamond nodded and noticed the small box Sam was carrying in his hand. Sam noticed where her eyes went.  
"It's what I've come to ask advice about."  
Dusting off her hands on her apron, she took the box and peered inside. She gently pulled out a small, silver colored seed.   
"Sam the All-knowing Gardener asking me advice about seeds. Now I've seen everything."  
"Well, I'm just curious as to where or how I should plant it."

Diamond shook her head and handed the seed back to Sam.  
"I really wouldn't know, Sam."  
"Alright then, I'll ask the others."  
Sam started to walk away, but Diamond ran and caught up with him.  
"I'm coming with you, I need to be reacquainted with everyone else."

Diamond's stomach tightened a bit; she knew she was going to see Pippin, but she tried to get her mind off of it. She examined Sam.

"My goodness Sam, what have you been eating? I could mistake you for one of the Big People!"

Sam chuckled.   
"I doubt you could. I've seen enough of them to last me a lifetime."

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Wow, I got over my writer's block momentarily. Anyway, now that I'm halfway fired up, the next chapter should be arriving shortly. Au revoir!


	18. Tree Party

"'Ey! Look who's here!"  
Diamond looked up into a nearby tree, one of the very few that hadn't been felled. 

"Merry, is that you?"  
Surely enough, lighted upon a high tree branch was Meriadoc, waving with one hand and holding shakily onto the branch with the other.  
"Yeah, right as rain it's me. Up here getting a better look. Care to join me?"  
Diamond smiled and began finding footholds on knots going up the trunk. Merry gave her a hand up and soon they were both seated on the branch, overlooking the Shire. Merry, still holding her hand, bent his head to kiss it.  
"A wonderful pleasure to see you again, M'Lady."  
Immediately, Diamond pulled her hand away as if Merry carried the plague, laughing.  
"Merry, your charms are best saved for someone else."  
Merry chuckled and nudged her softly.  
"Well heaven knows she had better show up pretty soon; I'm getting impatient after all these years."  
Diamond smiled.  
"It's good to have you back, Merry," she said. "It's certainly been a long time."  
Merry nodded in a solemn sort of way.  
"We had better get down there; Sam's waiting," Merry pointed out. Diamond nodded and nimbly began her descent down the tree.  
With Merry, it was another story.  
Dismounting from the tree branch, his foot slipped, making him slide off the branch, only to have him catch himself on another branch by his hands, which gave enough forward swinging momentum to make him successfully crash land into Sam. No injuries where sustained, except that of Merry's shin, the target point of Sam's well timed kick. Eventually though, the three continued on.

Frodo stood up, wiping sweat away from his forehead and rolling his sleeves up a little more. He stared down at the stubborn, old, rotten stump he and Pippin had appointed themselves to removing. Unfortunately, the stump seemed quite happy where it was and had no intention of leaving. Once again, Frodo bent down and pushed with all his might on the more protruded end of the stump. No such luck.  
"Pip? Are you even pushing over on that side?"  
Silence.  
Frodo walked around to the other side of the stump.  
"Pip? Pippin? Where did you get off to?"  
No sign of Pippin. Frodo shrugged and was about to go back to work on the stump when he eyed the three coming towards him. He walked forward to greet them.   
"Frodo! We dragged Diamond 'ere as well!"

Frodo smiled.  
"It's good to see you, Diamond...we certainly have a lot to catch up on."  
Diamond nodded, smiling. "Yes, I'm sure there will be many days exchanging--"

She stopped short as her vision was cut out; the world around her substituted with darkness. Her mind sort of blanked out; she knew this had happened before, she knew exactly what it was, but she was at a loss as to what she was supposed to do next. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly gone dry.

"Pippin, if you think all your adventuring gave you experience in quietly sneaking up on someone, you are quite erroneous."

Pippin slowly withdrew his hands as she turned around. They both looked at each other. Diamond extended her hand.

"So, you're finally back, Pippin....I've missed you." The words sounded too icy to her.

Pippin accepted her hand and merely bowed his head over it momentarily, fearing a kiss, even a soft one, would be too much.

"It's a pleasure to be back."

  



	19. Lavender

__

"The round Moon rolled behind the hill,

As the Sun raised up her head.  
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;

For though it was day, to her surprise,

They all went back to bed!"  
  
  
Uproarious laughter and applause thundered through the walls of the Green Dragon Inn. Merry and Pippin bowed nobly, laughing with the rest of them as mingled cries of "Encore!" and "Don't quit your day job!" echoed across the room.   
"I don't think we hardly did it justice. Ye should have seen ol' Frodo there that time in Bree!" Merry cried out in Frodo's general direction.   
Secluded at a quiet table near the back, Frodo smirked slightly and sipped at his tankard, then resumed staring out the window. His reverie was broken once again by a gentle tap on the arm.  
"Are you alright, Mr. Frodo?"  
Frodo looked across the table at his concerned gardener.  
"Of course I'm alright, Sam. If I had a penny for every time you ask me that per day…" Frodo trailed off, an underlying hint of irritation in his voice.  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo, it's just that I noticed that you was rubbing that stone Her Highness gave you. You do that a lot when you aren't feeling at the top of yourself."  
"Sam, I am _not_ ru--" Frodo looked down and noticed that he had, indeed, been nervously stroking the pearlescent stone that Lady Arwen had awarded him. His hand was clutched around it tightly. _Why did the whole adventure seem like it happened ages ago? _The white stone always fell upon his chest in the exact same manner as the Ring had. Perhaps that's why his hand would so often suddenly shoot up to grab it, fingers raking, mind racing to process whether his fingers felt the cold weight of the One Ring or the smooth surface of the stone.   
In the awkward silence, Merry and Pippin started up another tune, to the delight (and dismay) of the other patrons.   
Frodo sighed.  
"I'm just…thinking, that's all, Sam," and with that, Frodo dismissed the matter.   


On that day, two years ago, Sam had thought Frodo to be dead.  
  
***  
  
In the cool twilight, the leaves gently crunched under Diamond's feet as she gently picked her way around the young trees in the Party Field. She sighed lightly, brushed a few auburn strands away from her face, and gazed up at the slowly appearing stars. Her gaze traveled downwards, focusing on the tall magnificence that was the blooming mallorn tree. Smiling softly, she ambled towards it, breathing in the sweet scent of it's brilliant flowers. Although young, the tree, planted by Sam himself, was already more beautiful than any other growing in the Shire. It was rumored that the tea made from it's leaves had healing powers, and it was for this reason that Diamond had trekked out to the Party Field. Suffering no illnesses currently, she figured it would be for the best to store up some of the potent leaves for when they were needed.   
Bending down, she picked up a fallen leaf, smelled it, and, deeming it suitable, placed it in her apron. The leaves were easy to pick out, for mallorn leaves never withered when they fell from a branch, but stayed vibrant and bright, contrasting with the dark ground. Upon finding a fallen mallorn flower, Diamond sporadically placed it in her hair and continued with her work. However, her throat tightened as she remembered the flowers she had worn in her hair that one night…that one night so long ago when Peregrin had stuttered out a proposal, and she had refused.   
Diamond sighed, pushing away the tightness. _It's not the end of the world. There are plenty of other hobbits out there. _And it was true. The girlishness that was the propaganda of her sisters' had taught her that a self-respecting hobbit maid didn't really have to start worrying about the prospect of a husband until she was 33. Diamond knew she was "safe" from the possibility of become a spinster, being only 26, still in her tweens. If she wanted to secure a husband that could give her support, a home, and a means of living, it wouldn't take much. She already knew of plenty of young hobbits ready to trade away their fortunes for her.   
_Yes, Diamond…because finding a husband is just like buying property._ Diamond sighed, loathing the sarcasm that was her conscience.   
She stood up, inspecting the small pile of leaves situated in her apron. They looked well enough, she could probably give some of the extra to Eglatine. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied five figures exiting the Green Dragon. Even from a distance, she was familiar with the shapes of Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and an increasingly pregnant Rosie.   
Diamond knew that she had better hurry home if she was going to avoid them.  
Ever since Pippin returned, all of his conversations with Diamond had been limited to awkward small talk, nothing deep or casual. Eventually, Diamond found it was better to avoid him completely, so as to save nervous, awkward embarrassment for both of them.   
She picked up her skirts and set off at a fast gait, ignoring the mallorn flower that fell from her hair and the odd leaf that fell from her apron, praying that she was still far enough away to be unrecognizable by his eyes.  
  
***  
  
"Goodnight, all of you!"  
"See you in the morning!"  
  
Rosie, Sam, and Frodo all called back their own goodnights as Merry and Pippin continued on down the road. Merry whipped out his pipe, lit it, and puffed at it contently, leaving Pippin to his own thoughts.   
Pippin hated having to entertain himself with his own thoughts. Usually that resulted in him getting in trouble. However, Pippin's mischievous thoughts were short lived as he noticed a mallorn flower by the side of the road. As he bent to pick it up, he noticed that a few leaves surrounded it, and he picked those up as well. _Strange that they should be so far from the tree…_   
As he bent to smell the flower, he caught the scent of something else. It was a strong lavender smell, emitting mostly from the leaves. He knew it was the lavender that Diamond always kept in her house….lavender was her favorite flower, after all. He felt pangs in his chest, but he shoved them away. _She must have been gathering the leaves.   
_He sighed and picked up his pace to catch up with Merry. He wanted to toss the flower and leaves aside, but couldn't.   
"I'll catch up with you later, Merry. Goodnight," he muttered as he took off on the path towards Diamond's hole.   
  
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Woohoo!! I finally got another chapter up for you guys! I hope you enjoyed it; be sure to leave a review if you did. I hope I can have the next chapter up soon.   
  
^_^  



	20. I Sit Beside the Fire

Pressed up against the windowpane, breathing softly, Diamond watched as Pippin approached her door. Three times he stepped forth, three times he raised his hand to knock, and three times he lost his nerve, stepping back. She bit her bottom lip.  
_Oh, Mother…What would you tell me to do in a time like this?  
_She walked into the foyer, then to the door, pressing a pointed ear against it. She could hear every movement he made, every muttered curse or phrase, his breathing---all the little sounds she had been accustomed to so many years ago, but had forgotten since then. She heard him sigh heavily, then stoop and place the leaves on the threshold. Silence followed and she heard something brush against the door. His hand perhaps? On a flash of impulse from heaven knows where, Diamond found herself abruptly opening up the door.   
Upon opening it, she found herself presented with Pippin's profile, and a nice view of his ear, which caused her to conclude that he, too, had been pressed up against the door. All of this took place in the matter of one second, seeing as how the next second, Pippin lost his balance, toppled forward, and soon the two of them were sprawled across the foyer floor. He quickly scrambled to his feet, muttering thousands of embarrassed apologies, blushing up to the points of his ears. Diamond did not bother getting up. She sat up, tucked her legs underneath her, and looked up at Pippin. Her mouth open and closed a few times and she desperately wracked her brain, searching for something, anything, to say. It was then, looking up at him, that she lost herself. She began to weep, shamelessly, endlessly, pouring out every drop of emotion contained within her. Burying her face in her hands, she leaned forward and continued to sob. It just felt so good, so painful; it was like opening an old wound, letting it bleed so it could be cleansed.   
All Pippin could do was stare at her as she sat on the floor, weeping, clearly not caring whether he saw or not. It was an unnatural thing for her to do. From his experiences, Pippin always knew that Diamond never wanted to let him see her cry; she always wanted to remain strong in his eyes. Now that was all disregarded, and he stood there, not sure what to do or what not to do. After what seemed like ages, he finally crouched down and ever so gently wrapped his arms around her. He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that she wouldn't explode at him. On the contrary, she stayed where she was, crying softly and shivering slightly. He moved closer to her and did the first thing that came to his mind. He began to sing, softly at first, an old song often sung by the older hobbits.  
_  
I sit beside the fire and think_

Of all that I have seen,

Of meadow-flowers and butterflies

In summers that have been;

Of yellow leaves and gossamer

In autumns that there were,

With morning mist and silver sun

And wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think

Of how the world will be

When winter comes without a spring

That I shall ever see.

For still there are so many things

That I have never seen:

In every wood in every spring,

There is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think

Of people long ago,

And people who will see a world

That I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think

Of times there were before,

I listen for returning feet

And voices at the door. 

In the lingering silence afterwards, Diamond fell quiet, resting in his arms, taking it all in. Pippin didn't know whether what he had done was right or wrong, but he pushed that aside in his mind. And suddenly, he heard a soft noise, coming from Diamond. He strained to hear. She was sobbing again, and Pippin knew that he had made things worse. _  
Wait…no…_  
She was laughing at him! Busting her guts, practically rolling on the floor if he hadn't had a grip on her.   
"Months away from home and your singing skills still haven't improved, Pippin," she said teasingly through bursts of laughter. Before Pippin could react with indignation, she looked up at him and said,   
"Well, it may be a little late, but do tell me of your adventures."   
And with that, he sat down beside her, took a deep breath and began.  
"Well, it all started when Frodo, Sam, and I ran into a rather foreboding horseman on the road to Crickhollow one day…"  
  
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K, guys! Hope you enjoyed it! I've got all sorts of ideas cooked up in my head for the next chapter, I'll keep you posted!  
And remember, if you want to get added to my updates list (I'll email you whenever there's new about the story) simply leave a review saying you want to be added and leave your email address, or you can mail your address to me at marlfox_vixen@hotmail.com

__

  
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A. Give me a review  
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